To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

"Indeed, let Chu take Ning Ling, Yu City, and Gu Shu. As long as we can hold onto Liang, we’ll get them back sooner or later."

"With Liang in our grasp, we command Liang Prefecture; nothing else really matters."

"By holding onto Liang, we secure the seven prefectures, and in the future, our state of Liang will still be the top hegemon in Central State."

The multitude of ministers voiced their opinions one after another, their faces flushed with excitement.

From their words, it seemed as though Liang was not the one being attacked, but rather on the offensive, looking down upon the world.

This appeared rather comical, but also indirectly revealed a fact.

That is, Liang now desperately needed a policy and hope to guide everyone to persevere.

And without a doubt, the vision that Yang Chen spoke of met everyone’s expectations.

Therefore, as soon as it was uttered, it struck a chord with everyone, resonating deeply.

"But..."

However, at this moment, the one who had previously cast a dampener on the mood weakly spoke up again.

But as soon as he began to speak, the angry glares of the crowd were directed at him.

At this joyful moment, at this time of hope, if this fellow dared to dampen spirits again, the crowd harbored the desire to kill him.

Even the Emperor of Liang, who had been at the center of attention and had yet to speak, couldn’t help but frown at this person, a flash of disgust and anger in his eyes.

Being stared down by the emperor and so many colleagues, the minister who opened his mouth trembled with fear, retreating back into the crowd and indeed dared not speak any further.

Seeing this, the others snorted coldly, turned their heads away, and paid no further attention to this blind fellow.

"Cough... The Grand General is correct,"

the Emperor of Liang spoke up at this time: "Although the people of Chu are fierce, the men of Liang are no less so. Last year we only suffered a disastrous defeat because they ambushed us.

But even in defeat, last year was tough, yet didn’t we still hold onto Liang and pull through?

The dynasty of Liang continues uninterrupted.

This year we have recuperated, with more and stronger soldiers than last year, and even support from the states of Xu and Zheng. How could we be any less than last year?

Defending Liang is not a matter of if, but a certainty.

My ministers, there is no need to boost the morale of the enemy and diminish our own prestige."

The Emperor of Liang set the tone for this conversation.

Upon hearing this, the ministers all bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

...

While far away on the ramparts of the great city of Liang, the Monarch and Ministers of Liang were each other’s morale boosters, strengthening their own confidence.

At a distance of tens of miles away, within the ranks of the Chu army who were arraying their forces and building their main camp, Lu Yuan was also contemplating an important matter not closely related to the attack on Liang.

In the past two days, he had received dispatches from the governors and commandants of various prefectures in the rear, or rather in the prefectures of Central State in the rear.

They were requesting the withdrawal of military governance and the reestablishment of local prefectures and county soldiers to restore normal order.

In this regard, Lu Yuan naturally had no issue and was certainly supportive.

Military governance was never meant to last; the local areas were ultimately to return to normal order.

However, what made him hesitate was, where would the soldiers for the reconstructed prefecture and county forces come from?

Up until now, the Northern Expedition Army of Chu had secured complete control over seven prefectures—including Guannei, Guangling, Jiangxia, East Sea, Xingyang, Jiying, and Chengyang—as well as some territories in the prefectures of Henan, Nanyang, Liang Prefecture, East Prefecture, Shanyang, and Rencheng.

All together, these equaled almost ten prefectures’ worth of territory.

That’s nearly as large as the current direct territory of Chu.

In other words, with a single Northern Expedition, Lu Yuan had conquered another Chu in just one year’s time.

The size of this newly-acquired territory, being a war-torn area, meant a large shortfall in the required prefectures and county soldiers.

Nowadays, these occupied areas are under military administration, with the Northern Expedition Army deploying troops to guard and maintain local order.

However, military administration cannot be sustained indefinitely.

Especially prefectures such as Jiangxia and East Sea, which are considered to be rear areas, are transitioning to official rule as officials from Chu State arrive and begin to establish governmental frameworks.

In regions like these, what is needed is stability and production. While military administration can guarantee the former, its role in the latter is minimal.

After all, farmers’ cultivation, the comings and goings of merchants and travelers, the operation of workshops, and the opening of shops can’t simply be forced with the threat of a sword.

What is needed is to motivate the initiative of the people themselves, letting them spontaneously engage in these productive activities.

Therefore, for prefectures and counties that have stabilized in the rear, lifting military administration and restoring normal administration is an urgent matter.

But restoring normal administration is not so simple.

Of course, you can say withdrawing the deployed troops is easy, just a matter of issuing an order.

But after they withdraw, the question of who will take over responsibility for local security and stability is worth discussing.

Normally, local security would naturally be the responsibility of dedicated forces, namely the county soldiers and prefecture soldiers.

This is the standard operation for a normal prefecture or county.

But the number of prefectures and counties needing to be filled this time is too many.

A rough estimate, even if we use a basic standard of a hundred for a county and a thousand for a prefecture, the thirteen prefectures combined would require about two hundred thousand county soldiers to fill the gaps.

An additional one hundred and thirty thousand prefecture soldiers would also be needed.

Altogether, that makes up three hundred and thirty thousand prefecture and county soldiers.

Lu Yuan’s Northern Expedition Army could certainly provide that many standing troops.

But being able to provide them doesn’t mean they could be easily spared.

After all, we’re talking about three hundred and thirty thousand men. For the Northern Expedition Army, which has regular soldiers numbering around six million, pulling them out of the various military expeditions would be quite painful.

It could even affect the combat power of these expeditions.

After all, Lu Yuan suffered a loss of only a hundred thousand men at the battle of Mengshan Pass.

To withdraw three hundred and thirty thousand men is equivalent to fighting three Mengshan Pass battles.

But within the state of Liang, how many Mengshan Passes are there?

It’s because here lies the Imperial Capital of Great Liang that there is a Mengshan Pass.

In an ordinary region, a death toll of three hundred and thirty thousand could be enough for Chu forces to seize a prefecture.

Just like if Lu Yuan pulled out three hundred and thirty thousand soldiers from the million blocking Great Liang, the forces would collapse instantly.

Then, far from blocking Great Liang, it’s feared that the Liang soldiers inside the city might see the opportunity and dare to come out for a confrontation with the Chu army.

And if Lu Yuan didn’t intervene, the outcome of that confrontation would be hard to predict as an absolute victory.

So three hundred and thirty thousand standing troops is by no means a small number.

Currently, Chu has seven major military expeditions, each contending with one of the four dominant states, facing immense pressure and a shortage of troops.

In such a situation, it is truly impossible to spare too many soldiers to fill the gaps in the rear.

And while main fighting soldiers can’t be moved, the rear must have prefecture and county soldiers. Faced with this dilemma, Lu Yuan naturally has to consider another source of military manpower.

That is, whether to select a batch of the more elite from among the up to twelve million civilian workers.

To organize them into local county soldiers and form the military force that would maintain order in the new governing areas.

After all, after a year of war, the civilian workers of Chu have grown rapidly.

To pick out three hundred and thirty thousand prefecture and county soldiers from twelve million people is actually not that difficult.

Not to mention that many of the civilian workers are veteran soldiers who already have the basic training.

This makes it even easier.